Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2020

Notes:
The National Statistical Office released revised estimates for economic growth of India for the last three years, on January 31,2020. As per the report, it fixed the actual GDP growth 2018-19 at 6.1%, against its previous estimate of 6.8%, estimated in May 2019.
The National Statistical Office also stated that the main reason for the downward revision in the GDP growth rate is deceleration in farming and mining activities in primary sector and manufacturing activities in secondary sector. It also marked the growth rate in 2017-18 as 7%. Recently, NSO estimated the growth rate in 2019-20 to be 5%.

Notes:
After nearly four years of the referendum voted by the British people for Brexit, the United Kingdom officially left the European Union, at 11.00 p.m on January 31, 2020.
After Britain left the bloc, the European Union has 27 more countries. The process by which the member state leaves the Union has expired and UK has entered the transition period, which will remain till December 31, 2020. The UK will continue to obey the EU laws and courts during the transition period. A new 50-pence coin was launched recently to mark the occasion.

Notes:
The 35th edition of India International Leather Fair (IILF), 2020 is being held in the capital city of Tamil Nadu, Chennai. The fair is being held from February 1 to 3, 2020 at the Chennai Trade Centre.
The fair is organized by India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), which functions under aegis of Ministry of Commerce and Industry for promoting country’s external trade. A large variety of products related to leather industry are being displayed in the 3-day-long international fair. Latest trends and designs of the global fashion are also showcased in the event.

Notes:
The All-Party Parliament Group on Traditional Medicines recently organized a meeting at the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium. The meeting aimed at legalising Ayurveda in Europe and integrating it with their other healthcare systems.
During the meeting, Indian Ayurveda doctor, Dr.Pratap Chauhan was conferred with the ‘Ayurveda Ratan’ award. Several representatives and delegated attended the meeting including the Indian Ambassador to European Union, Gaitri Kumar. Ayurveda Day was celebrated at the European Parliament on November 21, 2018 for the first time.

Notes:
The world’s largest solar telescope called The Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST) has captured its first image of the sun, which has turned out to be the highest-resolution image of the star, till date.
The telescope captured the newly released image of the sun using its Visible Broadband Imager (VBI), which was the only operational instrument in the telescope during the time. The VBI takes extremely high-resolution images of the solar surface and lower atmosphere. The telescope is scheduled to be made fully operational by July 2020, with the remaining instruments being turned on.

Notes:
Leading Private lender of India, ICICI Bank recently launched a unique self-service delivery facility called ‘iBox’. Using this facility, the customers of the bank can avail various banking services including- collecting their debit card, credit card, cheque from a nearby branch.
The ‘iBox’ terminals are to be placed outside the premises of the branches, which can be accessed even after office hours. The customer will get an SMS about the status of the package through a completely automated process. These products can be collected by the customers at the time of their choice, on all days including holidays.

Notes:
India and Maldives signed 5 agreements for establishing ‘Addu Tourism zone’ in five islands of Addu atoll. An atoll is a ring-shaped chain of islands formed of coral.
The Tourism zone is expected to be set up at a cost of $2.49 million. It aims at generating local employment and boost the eco-tourism opportunities in Addu. The High Commissioner of India Sunjay Sudhir signed the MoUs with the Maldives Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid and Addu City Council. Another MoU to establish a bottled water plant in Hoarafushi was also inked.

Notes:
Indian Maharatna Public sector enterprise NTPC Ltd has recently raised $750 million syndicated Japanese yen loan, which will help to reduce air pollution from its power projects across India.
This is the highest single-foreign currency loan raised by the enterprise and also the largest syndicated Japanese yen loan raised by an Asian firm. The yen-denominated bond issued in the Japanese capital by non-Japanese companies is called Samurai bond. The loan will fund the installation of Flue Gas Desulphurization (FGD) system, which will help reduce SOx emissions. New hydro projects and projects using advanced technologies are also set to be established with the fund.

Notes:
Authorities from the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research have recently signed agreements with India in the fields of higher education and research, in New Delhi.
This agreement is a part of the visit of delegation of important educational institutions of Norway to India. Among the several agreements signed, the significant pact was between the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi and The Arctic University of Norway (UiT), for co-operation in the fields of bio-photonics, health and diagnostic tools, nanotechnology.

Notes:
Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has recently organised its first awareness programme in Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
APEDA, which comes under the aegis of Union Ministry of Commerce and Industries, organised the programme in association with the Directorate of Industries of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, in the capital city of the islands, Port Blair. The campaign was aimed at examining methods to promote exports of agri products and implementation of the Agri Export Policy in the Islands. The draft state Agri Export action plan, developed by APEDA was also finalized.